1. Field
The disclosed subject matter is in the field of voltage regulation for integrated circuit applications.
2. Related Art
A charge pump is an electronic circuit that receives an input voltage and uses a capacitor as an energy storage element to generate an output voltage that differs from the input voltage. Charge pumps employ switching to control the connection of voltages to the capacitor. Some examples of a charge pump, for instance, generate an output voltage that is greater than the input voltage by first charging the capacitor to the input voltage. The positive terminal of the input voltage is then disconnected from the positive terminal of the capacitor and reconnected to the negative terminal of the capacitor. Because the capacitor voltage cannot change instantaneously (ignoring leakage effects), the voltage of the capacitor positive terminal is effectively doubled.
Charge pumps are widely employed in flash memory products to provide a higher voltage needed to program and erase stored data. Commercially available flash memory products generally require only one external power supply, e.g., 1.8V or 3.3V. Program and erase operations generally require a higher voltage. Charge pumps are used to provide this higher voltage.